Canada geese usually molt, or shed their flight feathers, from late June to early July, as a part of their preparation for migration. During molting, adult geese are unable to fly for 20–40 days while their new feathers grow in. This keeps them on the ground, which can lead to increased sightings of geese and their young walking across roads. It’s not unusual to see traffic stopped in the road, some drivers honking, while the geese meander across the road. Those drivers are not aware that their honking only disturbs me 🤨 and not the geese.
The geese that didn’t breed during the season typically molt first, followed by adults with young right before their babies get their first flight feathers. Growing these new feathers is very energy intensive, so geese are hungrier than usual during this time. This means there’s gonna be more poop, everywhere! We call our daily walks at this time of season, the Goose Poop Boogie. So for the past several weeks, I’ve seen several groups of 15 to 30 geese, laying on the ground (as in the above image), eating and pooping at the same time. It does make for some easy photographs but ya gotta watch where your step’n. Happy July 1st!!
4 Comments
Earl
I like Canadian geese and think they’re beautiful, but they can be belligerent and messy. When I was growing up, we had a pond on our farm where geese would often visit. On one particular occasion, I saw a goose with wings spread wide, directly backing up our two-thousand-pound bull. It gave me a whole new level of respect. Haha!
Lovely photo!
Monte Stevens
I also give them respect and distance. When they are molting they are more suseptible to predators so they stay in large groups for safety. I saw a video of of battle between a Canada Geese and an eagle. The eagle backed off. It takes some courage to face off to a 2,000 pound bull. We have a couple more weeks of the messy stuff.
geri oster
This is a wonderful photograph, Monte. The layering and texturing of this sweetie’s feathers is amazing. I’ve never seen that before as this close-up image shows. I so enjoy the research and information you share with us on all of this glorious Creation about us. I don’t seem to have the wherewithal to do look up all of these things myself, so I really enjoy the fun facts that often accompany your pictures. I love learning. Keep up with the High Steppin!
Monte Stevens
A photographer needs to know their subject and so I research and find out about them. An example would be taking photographs of some raptor. If the photographer notices the bird drop a pellet, they can expect that the bird is about to lift off, thus a photo opportunity. And I will keep high-stepping as long as I’m able. Yes, the bird was quite close and the diffused flight I was able to bring out the details of the feathers. Have a wonderful day.